1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control for user management information in an image forming apparatus which can be used independently, as well as in cooperation with another image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years there has been widely spread an image forming apparatus which performs printing using transparent toner (clear toner) which is one kind of specific printing agents. For example, in a case of entire surface coating in which the clear toner is printed on an entire surface of a printing medium (paper or the like), the clear toner is used on an entire printing-possible region of the paper for printing after the printing is performed by colored toner (for example, CMYK toner), thereby making it possible to provide a glossy feeling like a photography on the entire surface of the paper. In addition, in a case of partial coating in which the clear toner is printed only on a partial region of the paper, the clear toner is used only on an indicated region of the paper for printing after the printing is performed by the colored toner, thereby making it possible to bring in a decoration effect by a partial glossy feeling. Since various expressions which are impossible in the colored toner can be made in the printing using the clear toner in this manner, an additional value of a printout matter can be improved.
There is also a method of performing the printing using the cleat toner with a single image forming apparatus, that is, a method in which, after colored toner and clear toner are transferred on a paper, a colored toner image and a clear toner image are fixed on the paper by one time of fixation for printing.
In this method, however, there occurs a problem that the clear toner can not be sufficiently used due to an adhesion amount limit of toner. That is, an upper limit of a toner amount per unit area of a paper for printing, which is fixable by one time of fixation, is defined, and the toner amount is restricted within the toner adhesion amount limit in a region where the colored toner is used in a great deal amount. As a result, there occurs the problem that the clear toner can not be sufficiently used.
Therefore, there is proposed the buildup of an image processing system in which an image processing apparatus for performing printing using colored toner and an image processing apparatus for performing printing using clear toner are physically connected for producing an output matter using the clear toner (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-145595). For example, for a user using the clear toner, there is proposed an image processing system in which an image processing apparatus (former apparatus) for performing printing by implementing transfer and fixation using colored toner is connected to an image processing apparatus (latter apparatus) for performing printing by implementing transfer and fixation using clear toner. With this construction, both of the CMYK toner and the clear toner can be sufficiently used to a printing object.
As describe above, in a case where the image forming system is built by connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses with each other, there occurs a problem on how to deal with “user management information” registered in each of the image forming apparatuses.
Here, “user management information” indicates various kinds of information which relate to the image forming apparatus and are managed for each user. For example, the user management information includes a user account composed of user ID, a pass word and the like for identifying a user to confirm use authority of the image forming apparatus, image data registered in the image forming apparatus, sending address information at the time of sending the image data and the like via a network, and the like.
Since such user management information exists for each of the image forming apparatuses, for connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be used as a single image forming system, it is necessary to additionally register the user management information relating to one of image forming apparatuses constituting the system to the other of the image forming apparatuses. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state of the additional registration of the user management information. For example, in a first image forming apparatus, it is understood that user management information B in a second image forming apparatus is additionally registered to the existing user management information A. In addition, a service man or an administrator manually performs this additional registration conventionally. Therefore, there is concern that there occurs a problem due to a human induced error that, for example, in a case where a registration of some user is leaked at an additional registration of a user account, even if the user has an attempt of inputting a login, an identification error occurs, making it impossible to use the image forming apparatus.
Further, there is a demand for releasing the connection of the apparatuses constituting the system as needed and using the respective image forming apparatuses independently, and in such a use form, it is necessary to return the user management information additionally registered, back to an original state. Since the returning operation is also manually performed in the same way as the above operation, it requires troublesome tasks and also there is a possibility that there occurs a risk of mixing of a human induced error as described above.